In some medical applications, it can be beneficial to use a restraint system to immobilize a patient. Immobilization may be useful to prevent unwanted movement of a patient during transport and/or surgery. Immobilization may be especially useful when providing medical services to combative or frightened patients for whom it may be difficult to relax and remain calm.
One conventional type of restraint system uses a rigid board with multiple securing straps. In some conventional device, the securing straps are wide bands of material that are detachable (e.g., using VELCRO) from the rigid board. The patient is secured to the rigid board using the straps, which may be individually secured around the patient's body and extremities. The individual nature of the straps can also facilitate selective access to specific areas of the patient's body by medical personnel.
In order to provide some level of comfort to the patient, the rigid board may have a padded surface that is permanently secured to at least one side of the rigid board. This padded surface provides a more comfortable surface for the patient's back and allows for some cushioning as the straps are tightened around the patient.
Unfortunately, conventional restraint systems with integrated padding are difficult to maintain clean and sanitary. Patients in need of medical attention can soil the restraint system with blood or other bodily fluids, which can be difficult to effectively remove from seams or zippers in the padded covering and/or seams between the covering and the supportive board. While it may be possible to sanitize the board's surfaces to an acceptable degree, it can be difficult to fully clean the board in some instances. In some situations, nurses simply remove the removable straps and wipe down the board and padding with a cleaning agent. The removable straps may be laundered separately (e.g., at another location such as a laundry facility of a hospital). Additionally, the cleaning process typically involves taking the board out of use for some time while the straps are sent for cleaning. In a medical environment where there are typically few boards available for a given department or facility, sending the board out for thorough cleaning means that the board is not available for medical use during that time. The cleaning process can also be made difficult because the typical hook and loop material used to secure the straps together often retain foreign materials that are difficult to fully remove, thus negatively affecting the securing properties of the straps.